Memorial Service Welcome & Opening Words
by Reverend Karen Gray

Welcome to the Arlington Unitarian Church and to the Memorial Service for our dear Pam Bricker. I am Reverend Karen Gray, a friend of Pam and her family.

We're all brought together by our shared love and admiration for Pam. And we're brought together because we share the loss of her friendship, her love, her music and her beautiful presence.

It's so sad to have lost Pam. The world only got a half century of her and could have used so much more. Today's service gives us an opportunity to share our memories and fascination. This sanctuary provides a sacred space for prayer, hope and healing. And each person in this community offers a glowing reminder that what we experienced with Pam was very real, and will continue to touch us in many ways for a long time.

Pam brought a fundamental truth to many situations. Certainly as a musician, she was so very in touch with what was in her heart, yearning to be expressed. As an entertainer and a person who loved her audience, she was sincere in her effort to reach her audience and to let the audience reach her in return. She was creative and generous in many ways. Music was her main way of finding and expressing herself. And the way she worked with music reflected how she was as a person in general.

Fundamental Truth. There were no approximations for Pam, no faking it, no interest in getting it half right. Pam's heart was so large and full, and her intellect was so sharp and engaged. I found that if I ever spoke carelessly, falling back on a cliché, or throwing something out like small talk, well then it would become clear that Pam was truly listening, and now I'd be asked to explain myself. So I had to really think through what I meant. It was true with life, it was true with music. Pam could be very helpful in getting me to identify and express what I was experiencing.

I say all this because Pam's penchant for the fundamental truth could help us even now as we learn to live with the unfathomable loss of a person so wonderful and complex.

I think some of the Fundamental Truth would be about how we come to terms with her life not having been long enough for us to see her, listen to her, love her, learn from her, and enjoy her as much as we wanted to.

While her life may not have seemed long enough, it was so very rich. If we measure a life by the love that flowed through it, the inspiration that found expression in it, the joy that took root in it, and the friends who felt at home in it, then we can see that Pam's life was generous and fully lived.

There may be a million songs sung or played with Pam in mind in the years to come. There will be countless smiles and tears and memories. This afternoon, we have the gift of just a few of these songs, these smiles, memories, and tears. And we have the chance to share them with each other, finding comfort in the crowd, knowing that our love and our sadness and our hope for Pam are understood and shared by so many others.